How to Install Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox

Kali Linux 2020.1 was released in January 2020 with some major changes which featured redesigned installation files for a much more flexible installation. This guide describes how to install the latest Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox.

Prerequisites for Installing Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox

An active internet connection. Since the latest Kali Linux 2020 releases, an internet connection is required during installation even when using the supposed offline installer. This has been confirmed to be a bug which will be fixed in the soon to launch Kali Linux 2020.2.

Preparing to Install Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox

Before you can proceed to the installation of Kali Linux on VirtualBox, you first need to create a guest VM. (VM = Virtual Machine).

Now using the prerequisites listed above, we are going to create a guest VM, attach the Kali Linux ISO file you downloaded to the guest VM, and thereafter proceed to the actual installation of Kali on the guest VM.

1. Launch VirtualBox and create a guest VM.

Click “New” under the Tools menu to start creating a new virtual machine.

Then click “Expert mode” on the bottom of the pop-up window.

Now configure the Kali Linux 2020.1 guest VM with the following details:

Cross-check what you have with my screenshot above. Click “create” to proceed.

2. Create a virtual hard disk for the Kali guest VM

After you click create from step 1 above, a new window will pop up. Set the File size of the virtual hard disk to a minimum of 30GB. Leave every other configuration as it is and click “create” again to finish up.

3. Attach the downloaded Kali ISO file to the Kali guest VM.

Right-click on the Kali guest VM and click “settings” Then click Storage > Empty > the Disk Icon > and Choose a disk file as shown in the screenshot below. Now locate where you downloaded the Kali ISO installer file and select it.

Install Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox – Step by Step

With all that prep out of the way, follow these steps to install Kali Linux 2020.1 on VirtualBox.

Step 5: The installer will now copy over the Kali image to your virtual hard disk, probe the available network interfaces, and prompt you to enter a system hostname. I will leave the hostname as the default “Kali”. Change yours if you want.

Step 6: (Optional) You may add this Kali machine to a domain or press enter to skip.

Step 7: Create a standard, non-administrative user for the system.

This will be the user account that you will use for every day running of this Kali machine. (Kudos to the Kali team for adding this step! This was not there until these latest Kali Linux 2020 releases).

Create a username for the standard user

Set a password for the standard user.

Step 8: Set the system time zone.

Step 9: The installer will launch the disk partitioner and offer you 4 options. I recommend beginners to select the Guided – use entire disk option.

Select the disk to be partitioned. Only your laptop’s hard disk will probably be listed here.

Select how you want the disk to be partitioned. Again for beginners, I recommend you choose the All files in one partition option. But you could still choose to have the home directory in a separate partition like in the example below.

Review your disk partitioning configuration.

Write the changes to disk. This is the last time to change your mind after now, the disk formatting cannot be reversed. Select yes and press enter.

Step 10: (Optional) If you use a proxy, enter the HTTP proxy information or press enter to skip it.

Step 11: Choose what software you would like to install.

Kali Linux 2020 releases now give users the option to decide what Kali desktop environment, and what amount of cybersecurity tools to install during the installation.

In the example below, I chose the Xfce desktop environment (default) & the light base system with no pentesting tools.

Remember, if your selection is anything but the default package selection, you will need an internet connection to download the extra data.

About The Author

My name is Ojo Iszy, I am an ethical hacker and cybersecurity expert. I started to learn hacking way back in 2014 completely through self-education. This gave me the opportunity to gain very sound & practical experience in cybersecurity and ethical hacking. Now I focus all of my time and energy teaching the best of what I have learned through the years on this blog, my YouTube channel, and in my online courses (launching soon).